Harry Redknapp has revealed that former Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe planned for rugby union's Sir Clive Woodward to become the club's manager. The claim, made during an interview, sheds light on a controversial period of decision-making at St Mary's as the current team sits sixth in the Championship with 24 points from 14 games, a record of eight wins, four draws and two losses.

Redknapp, who managed Saints between December 2004 and December 2005, spoke about Lowe's vision on the OLBG YouTube channel with Jeff Stelling. He suggested the appointment of Woodward as technical director in July 2005 was a stepping stone to the top job. "I think Rupert's plan was that he would become the manager," Redknapp said.

A controversial vision

The move to bring in England's Rugby World Cup-winning coach was met with skepticism from supporters and created tension within the club's football structure. Redknapp acknowledged the difficulty of such a transition. "Well, listen, I had great respect for Clive. It's great what he'd done in rugby and he had good ideas," he stated, while admitting moving from rugby to football management would be "very difficult." Redknapp's own tenure was brief and underwhelming, yielding just 13 wins from 49 matches before he returned to arch-rivals Portsmouth, a fact that forever colours his legacy on the south coast.

Redknapp did credit Lowe for his work on the club's infrastructure, including overseeing the move from The Dell to St Mary's Stadium and an FA Cup final appearance in 2003. He also praised the chairman's commitment to the academy and youth development. However, Lowe's era is largely viewed unfavourably by fans, culminating in the club entering administration and suffering relegation to League One after his departure in 2009.

The revelation comes as the modern Southampton side, now under different ownership, continues its push for promotion. The team sits sixth in the Championship with 24 points from 14 games and is unbeaten in its last five matches, a run of three wins and two draws. Their recent form includes a 1-1 draw with West Brom on Tuesday 3 November, where Samuel Edozie scored the equaliser, and a 4-1 victory over QPR on Saturday 31 October. The side has scored 29 goals this season while conceding just 14, giving them a goal difference of plus fifteen. Their next challenge is an away trip to Preston on Saturday, 7 November, as they look to maintain their positive momentum in the league. The first-team squad's solid form, spearheaded by top scorer C. Larin with seven goals this season, provides a stark contrast to the instability of the past, a period now further illuminated by Redknapp's retrospective comments.

This story first appeared at Yardbarker